Robert Smithson Spiral Jetty, 1972

Jetty: “A structure that projects from land out into the water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel.”

The site of the Spiral Jetty has a unique ecosystem because of the high alkaline concentrations supporting red algae and Brine shrimps. Utah's geology and topography help form his Earth art sculptures, along with the red color in the water at the meandering zone at Rozel Point. Utah's lakes are particular because they lack outlets to oceans and their proximity to deserts and mountains. The bodies are water form alone, free from other outside waterways, and lay static in the landscape. Robert Smithson describes his motivations for the Spiral Jetty as the ability to "Stabilize something that is unstable. It can be seen from the ground…The water is red... like wine. It is built on a reef under three feet of water, and it dries up in late summer, so there is a constant shift in physical properties."

The initial design was to build a causeway to Antelope Island, one of the many islands in Salt Lake. Smithson was still adjusting the actual design, whether it be a causeway connecting islands, but ultimately, the spiral dominated this thinking. In his proposal for the Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson said, "There should be artist consultants in every major industry in America." After securing a 20-year lease at the meandering zone in Rozel Point, Utah, and finding a contractor, construction started in April 1970.

Smithson only left a small plaque identifying his work on the adjacent mountainside to avoid disturbing the landscape. In 1992 Robert Smithson Spiral Jetty's land lease in the meandering zone was extended indefinitely, making it a permanent landmark. In 1999, Smithson's wife and fellow Earth Artist Nancy Holt donated the Spiral Jetty to the Dia Art Foundation. Currently, the Spiral Jetty is managed by a Utah-based company specializing in geospatial services along with being photographed twice a year. The Spiral Jetty will remain accessible to anyone who dares to journey to it, cementing Robert Smithson's legacy and impact on art.

First-hand account:

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty(1972) was taught in PowerPoint in blurry black and white pictures around 2020. I struggled to imagine seeing it in person because photographs did nothing justice. In 2021, the Spiral Jetty was nearing its 50th anniversary, and Utah was in a drought meaning the Spiral Jetty was visible, so I decided to go. I would be lucky enough to experience all of it.

Getting to the Spiral Jetty is challenging. The Utah terrain is dusty and dry, providing no relief from modern comforts. The GPS is patchy, so you must rely on wooden signs pointing you to a twelve-mile unpaved mountain backroad. Once you start on this road, there is no turning back. On this unpaved road, the reality of my situation set in, resulting in panic. I cried from anxiety, feeling small and stupid, and questioning myself. It was over 100 degrees, and I was unprepared, having no water, cell phone charger, or snacks while tired and dirty. The final sign is a tiny round sign that says Spiral Jetty ahead, giving me the reassurance I desperately needed.

The parking area for the Spiral Jetty is on the mountain. Instead of the entirety of the Spiral Jetty, you witness parts of the Spiral Jetty ascending over the horizon. Robert Smithson describes the atmosphere as a "mirage fades into the burning atmosphere." A mirage is a perfect description because everything seems so unbelievable. The vast horizon shone and curved with the earth, producing a scene resembling an Impressionistic landscape. The patches of minerals and salt look like piles of snow with a sky sectioned by rays of orange and pink sunbeams.

The smell is the first thing that hits your senses. The assault of the sulfur and dried fish overpowered all my other senses. The dryness of the air matched the temperate, removing the ability to comprehend the temperature. Everything was numb from overstimulation and exhaustion. After climbing down a rocky, unstable hill to reach the shore, the causeway of the Spiral Jetty starts.

Walking around the Spiral Jetty required dedication and energy because the sand and minerals make every step heavy. The black boulders forming the Spiral Jetty are massive, making you feel small, and the grainy sand they lay on seems foreign in texture. When you reach Spiral Jetty's center and stand in the tight coil, time and space cease to exist. At that moment, the Spiral Jetty is foreign and familiar but also complex and confusing. Robert Smithson said it best "My Dialectics of sites and nonsite whirled into an indeterminate state.”

Bibliography:

Loe, Hikmet Sidney. The Spiral Jetty Encyclo: Exploring Robert Smithson's Earthwork Through Time and Place. Salt Lake City, Utah: The University of Utah Press, 2017.